Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Nepal Tea: White Prakash, A Tea Review

So, I have run into a slight problem with my monstous new desk, it is very tall. Even with my chair all the way up I still feel too low down and I am not entirely sure what to do. It got me thinking, what did people in the 30s do? I've seen those chairs, they are not that tall, so did people do their writing with their arms way up in the air? These are the things about the past that I clearly don't understand.

Have I mentioned before how much I adore Nepalese teas? Because, I really do, there is something about that region of the world that produces some of the most clean and nuanced tasting teas, each one I have tried has left an impression on me. Today I am looking at Nepal Tea's White Prakash, a white tea from the Kanchanjangha Tea Estate. This is not the usual white tea, from the first sniff I could tell this was something unique, notes of familiar cucumber, honey, hay, and peony flowers drift up from the leaves, but also very strong notes of grapes, nasturtium, and wildflowers. It smells a lot like a cross between a first flush Darjeeling and a Bai Mu Dan, which is a beautiful combination of notes to have.

Into my gaiwan the leaves go, the aroma of the steeped leaves is so sweet, strong notes of honey and grapes, wildflowers, hay, and a touch of crisp cucumbers and lettuce. Again the aroma reminds me of a cross between a first flush and a Bai Mu Dan, it is so fascinating! The liquid is sweet, honey and grapes with gentle hay and wildflowers, a touch of cucumber and lettuce at the finish, but primarily sweetness.

Wow, that first steep is itensely sweet! It tastes like warm white grape juice mixed with wildflower honey. Then it transitions to hay and fresh sage with a finish of crisp cucumbers. The mouthfeel starts very thick, combine that with the sweetness and juiciness the mouthfeel is very much so like warm honey. The finishing mouthfeel is very crisp and smooth, I am amused by how this tea goes from thick sweetness to refreshing crispness.

I got a bunch of steeps out of this tea, I ended up having an all night session with it, which was pleasant and unexpected. I started it pretty late, before I decided to go to bed, expecting a quick session of 4-5 steeps and I got 12...and ended up staying up with it til 3AM. Everything about this tea caught me by surprise, the taste and aroma were unlike any white I have had...even ones from both Darjeeling and Nepal, its longevity surprised me, its appearance even surprised me a bit.

The first several steeps were very similar to the first steep, just increasing in strength and sweetness as one would expect as the leaves become fully unfurled and saturated. The later steeps bring in more of the crisp herbaceous sage and cucumber notes with an aftertaste of wildflowers and pollen. Soon Nepal Tea plans on launching a Kickstarter which I plan on backing, and deciding which tea I plan on selecting for my reward is going to be really hard!